As a GIS Analyst for the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission (through a contract with the ESRGC), my job primarily involves QC’ing data generated as part of the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Mapping Project. I often get asked “What is QC?” or “How this that different that QA?” or “I thought QA/QC was one process?” or “When are my county’s maps going to be done…do you really need all this QA/QC?”

QA/QC is actually the combination of 2 project management concepts. Quality assurance (QA) is a predetermined set of processes used to measure and assure the quality of a product or service as it takes place. A set of activities and actions that ensure the product or service will meet the objective is the basis for QA. From the start of the project, QA should be involved. QA is usually the responsibility of the team as a whole, which is helpful due to the varying views of perspective on the project.

Quality control (QC) is the concept of ensuring a product or service meets the customer’s expectations. QC is an activity that verifies that the product/service meets a set of pre-defined standards. The QC process corrects defects and omissions while improving the development process. While identifying weaknesses throughout the process and constantly improving them, the risk of an unsatisfactory end product is lowered. The process of QC should be ongoing to increase consistency and ensure the corrective efforts have produced satisfactory results.

For example, the GIS Analysts at the ESRGC will create wetland and shoreline boundaries.  I then review the boundaries created and note changes from the existing boundaries.  The review points show whether there are increases or losses to the Critical Area in a given county.  After my review is complete, the ESRGC evaluates my review points and makes any changes needed.  Early in the project while QC’ing one of the counties, I noticed there were a huge number of shoreline structures: jetties, groins, bulkheads, and revetments.  The agreed-upon mapping standard had the shoreline simply follow around these structures, but I determined that because there were so many and their size was so significant, they needed to be dealt with in a different way.  In addition, these piles of rocks were being mapped as upland areas, which could become problematic from a legal standpoint.  So as a result of QC, the methodology changed to include our new guidelines (or QA) on shoreline structures which specifically address how bulk heads, revetments, groins, and jetties will be evaluated and incorporated into the shoreline.

A key question is to determine who should be responsible for the QA and QC responsibilities. Should it be an external group or a combination of both sides of the project?  Different situations can require a different approach.  Newer/smaller organizations may want to have an external review to establish credibility and to eliminate as much risk as possible. External QC can provide valuable proficiency and perspective.  However, the funding may not be available for an external QC team.  If this is the case, the person(s) performing the QC needs to be separated from the processing part of the project.

When combined, QA/QC should be considered a series of checks and balances and corrective actions that produce a reliable product that is correct and consistent.

Second Quarter Report 2012

The ESRGC is excited to announce GNAppWorks, a mobile app development initiative focused on providing applications to the government and nonprofit sector. GNAppWorks is a partnership between the ESRGC and BEACON, The Business Economic and Community Outreach Network in the Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University.

At the ESRGC over the past year, our GIS programmers have been developing mobile applications focused on mapping and GIS. We developed Pipelines Nearby, a location aware, mobile friendly web app which let’s people find the closest natural resource pipelines to them or a specified location. We also developed mobile versions of our Salisbury City Crime Map and Salisbury University Crime Map.

The goal of the ESRGC is to provide GIS and other high tech services to underserved markets on the eastern shore of Maryland, and we hope to extend this goal with the creation of GNAppWorks. Nonprofits with increasingly smaller budgets, citizens in lower socio-economic classes, and small government entities have needs for mobile applications, but lack the means to develop or fund development of high quality products. With the backing of Salisbury University, GNAppWorks will be able to provide these services.

GNAppWorks will serve several other purposes, such as providing real world experience for students in Computer Science, Business, Geography and other areas of study, attracting STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) students to Salisbury University, and to promote economic development in the community.

Stay tuned over the next couple of months as GNAppWorks will be launching our new website, announcing new projects, and unveiling our first official app.

The ESRGC will be attending the Taste of the Eastern Shore at the Loews Hotel in Annapolis, MD on February 9, 2012 from 5:30pm-7:30pm. This is a legislative networking opportunity for the 2012 Maryland General Assembly Session. The event features informational booths about Lower Eastern Shore businesses, organizations and activities.

Dr. Michael Scott, director of the ESRGC was recently elected chair of the Board of Directors for PAC14, Salisbury/Wicomico County’s public access television station.

In this new role, Dr. Scott will be working with the staff, board, and members of PAC14 to expand the reach of public access television and to help ensure the station’s long-term viability.  For more information on PAC14, the website is www.pac14.org.

On November 16th from 11a.m. – 2p.m. the ESRGC will be celebrating GIS Day in the Commons Building at Salisbury University.

Staff members and local GIS professionals will be on hand to showcase their latest projects and discuss GIS with the public. Attendees are invited to browse maps, and interactive websites to better understand how organizations are currently utilizing GIS to solve real world problems.

Press Release

Quarterly Report FY12 (pdf)

Michael Scott talks about the August 23 earthquake.  Listen here.  Read here, here, here, here, and here.

The Human Resources Office is pleased to announce that Lauren McDermott, GIS Project Manager at the Eastern Shore Regional GIS Cooperative, has been seleted as the Salisbury University Employee of the Month for August 2011!

Lauren received a nomination from Dr. Michael Scott, Director of the Eastern Shore Regional GIS Cooperative, for her outstanding performance in guiding and leading the cooperative to its current level of staff commitment, project notoriety, and national broadband leadership status. In the nomination letter, Dr. Scott stated that Lauren “has an amazing ability to see complex projects through to completion, is committed to training and mentoring dozens of students, and provides leadership of an extremely lean, efficient, highly-motivated team.” In notes of support from GIS team members, Lauren is portrait as having a can-do attitude, a natural and effective leadership style fostering a collaborative environment where team members feel valued, and a commitment to the mission and advancement of SU. In closing, Dr. Scott summarizes that “Lauren personally embodies the ESRGC principles of civic engagement, community and service in both her professional and personal life.”

Congratulations to Lauren McDermott! She will be presented a framed certificate from President Janet Dudley-Eshbach and will receive three gift cards, $25 value each: 1) Gift Card to the SU Bookstore, 2) Gift Card to the Regal Cinema movie theater in the Salisbury Center Mall, and 3) Gift Card to a SU alumni-owned restaurant in Salisbury. In addition, a photograph of her will be placed on the Employee Recognition Program web site and the Employee of the Month Wall for a period of one (1) year; an announcement will appear in the SU News, and a press release will be submitted to the Daily Times for placement in their publication.